In addition to that seven-wicket defeat in September 2011 the Burrows Lane side has twice finished top of the Southport and District League in recent seasons when there was no relegation from the Competition, but their victory over Haydock secured the title once again and guaranteed that they would replace Sutton in next spring’s fixture-list.
“It’s been our long-term strategy to get into the Competition and we’re delighted to have achieved our goal,” said Prescot & Odyssey’s chairman, Barrie Keeble. “It’s been a long process but now we’re looking forward to it immensely.
“Our performance in that play-off against Old Xavs was just awful and in 2014 we ruined our chances in the first month. But in the season just ended we managed to keep our focus and were about 40 points clear with five games to go. We’d managed to reduce that to 13 points before the last game and that match was about the most nerve-wracking I’ve ever watched.
“The plan was that we would win the toss, bat first and get enough points to secure promotion by tea. Instead of that, we were 90-odd for six chasing 138 to win but one of our younger players, Adam De-Gray Birch, blasted a quick 30 or so to get the bonus points we needed for promotion and we went on to win the game.”
Having done what was needed on the field, Prescot and Odyssey’s members were quietly confident their facilities already met the various standards required by the Competition
“That process began five or six years ago when we invested time and money into re-establishing our junior section and getting Clubmark accreditation,” said Keeble. “We have two pitches and since then we’ve worked on improving the whole ground, be that our sightscreens, our covers or our bar. It’s been a three-pronged process: improve the ground, improve the team and get Clubmark.
“The junior section is fantastic now. At the start it was a means to an end but it’s been brought on by our coach, Tim Groom, and some of the juniors are now playing adult cricket. As of 2016 we now have three Saturday sides again and the third team is a blend of adults and juniors.
“Mark Duncan is taking over as the first team skipper for our first season in the Competition and we have a committee meeting on Monday when we will decide on our recruitment policy. We can’t really afford an overseas player but we have to decided whether we can afford not to have one.
“The last thing we want is to be involved in a relegation battle in our first season and our hope is that our membership of the Competition will naturally attract players to Prescot. I’ve never been one for poaching players but if we can improve the strength of the three senior squads, that can only be good anyway.”
And if Keeble and his players needed some encouragement as they prepare for many new adventures they might do worse than consider the views of Phil Buck, whose Southport Trinity club made a success of their own return to the Competition last season.
“I’d advise Prescot and Odyssey not to be frightened,” said Buck. “Going into the Comp is a big step and it took us a while to adjust. But don’t fear the big names. Just go out and enjoy it. I think Prescot are a decent side, I reckon they will do what we’ve done this year and I think the results will come for them.”
